In process—and manufacturing automation technology, field devices are often applied, which serve to register and/or influence process variables. Serving for registering process variables are measuring devices, such as, for example, fill-level measuring devices, flow measuring devices, pressure and temperature measuring devices, pH measuring devices, electrical conductivity measuring devices, etc., which register the corresponding process variables of fill-level, flow, pressure, temperature, pH-value and conductivity. Serving for influencing process variables are actuators, for example valves or pumps, via which the flow of a fluid in a section of pipeline or the fill-level in a container can be changed. Under the term “field devices” as used in connection with the invention are thus subsumed all types of measuring devices and actuators.
Also referred to as field devices, moreover, are in connection with the invention, all devices which are employed near the process and which deliver, or process, process-relevant information. In addition to the aforementioned sensors and actuators, generally, such units that are directly connected to a fieldbus and which serve for communication with the superordinated units, for example remote I/Os, gateways, linking devices and wireless adapters or radio adapters, are also referred to as field devices. A plurality of these devices are produced and sold by the Endress+Hauser Group.
In modern industrial plants, communication between at least one superordinated control unit and the field devices occurs, as a rule, via a bus system, such as, for example, Profibus®, Foundation® Fieldbus or HART®. The bus systems can be embodied both in a hardwired manner as well as wirelessly. The superordinated control unit serves for process control, for process visualizing, for process monitoring as well as for starting up and servicing the field devices, and is also referred to as the configuration/management system.
The integration of field devices in configuration or management systems occurs via device descriptions, which assure that the superordinated control units can detect and interpret the data delivered by the field devices. The device descriptions for each field device type, or for each field device type in different applications, are provided, as a rule, by the respective device manufacturer. So that the field devices can be integrated into different fieldbus systems, different device descriptions must be created for the different fieldbus systems. Thus, there are—to name only a few examples—HART, Fieldbus Foundation and Profibus device descriptions. The number of device descriptions is very large and corresponds to the large number of different field devices and field device types in the different applications and bus systems.
For the purpose of creating a unitary description language for field devices, the Fieldbus Foundation (FF), the HART Communication Foundation (HCF) and the Profibus Nutzerorganisation (Profibus User Organization, referred to as the ‘PNO’) have created a unified electronic device description language (Electronic Device Description Language: EDDL). The EDDL and the corresponding Electronic Device Description EDD are defined in the standard IEC 61804-2.
Ever more important in automation technology is industrial Ethernet. Examples of industrial Ethernets are: HSE, ControlNet, Industrial IP, Profi-Net, HART UDP/TCP, . . . field devices, which are connected via an industrial Ethernet with a superordinated control unit, and which also usually make use of a web server. This web server enables servicing, and, thus, especially, configuration, parametering or diagnosis of a field device, by means of a web browser. In principle, servicing of field devices is only possible online, via a service unit connected or connectable with the field device. Up to now, no method has been known by which a field device can be serviced offline, that is to say without being integrated into the industrial Ethernet.